Cheryl Wheeler-Duncan’s road from teenage kickboxing champ to 50-year-old stuntwoman has seen its share of falls, fires and fights.

She doubled for Rene Russo in “The Thomas Crown Affair” and the “Lethal Weapon” series, jumped into a speedboat for Kathleen Turner in “V.I. Warshawski” and flew into the courthouse window in “Back to the Future Part II”.

Most were stunts, but not all.

A 20-foot fall on the set of “Back to the Future Part II” brought her rising Hollywood career to a halt in 1989. The bones in her face, right arm and hand were shattered when she hit the concrete after a cable was released during a flying stunt.

Over the next three years, she underwent five reconstructive surgeries, studied nutrition and met her future husband, naturopathic doctor Lindsey Duncan. The founder of supplement and juice company Genesis Today, he helped her develop a regimen of cleansing, supplements and diet changes. The couple lived in Boulder in the ’90s, and Wheeler-Duncan eventually returned to full-time stunt work and got her pilot’s license.

She is currently working on “Spy Kids 4,” stunt-driving for Jessica Alba (“she’s very young; she could be my daughter”), shooting in Austin, Texas, where she now lives with her husband and two daughters, 10 and 12. She came through Denver to visit a friend and to tout the new Genesis Today juice line sold in grocery stores.

But when you get the chance to interview a Hollywood stuntwoman, juice is not the first question on the list.

A: I became involved in martial arts when I was 15 and I ended up winning a kickboxing title. I went out to California and I thought I was going to do martial-arts movies and be an actress. I was an athlete and knew how to hang with the boys, so I got into stunt work. I had a really bad accident in ’89 that forced me to look into the mirror. It was a wake-up call in many ways. In Hollywood, they judge you on how you look. Doubling for these beautiful actresses, I just thought life was over, but it was a good thing that it happened. I went within and really had to look at my health and how superficial the business was.

Q: It’s always awkward to ask someone their age, especially in Hollywood, but how old are you?

A: I hit 50 this year and that was a little bit of a tough one. I mean, 50 is 20 years from 70! But I never have minded talking about my age. It’s about attitude, and taking care of your body. But that is kind of a dichotomy with what I’ve done in my career.

Q: Doesn’t working in Hollywood do a number on your self-confidence?

A: My own way to stay lean is to live a healthy lifestyle. I think people kind of give up a little bit as they get older, they settle and they don’t have the energy to change it. I had an inspiration to not let that happen because fat stuntwomen don’t get work. Even an actress who is a little bit heavy doesn’t want a heavy stuntwoman doubling her. If your butt’s too flat, they’ll say something and if your butt’s too big, they’ll say something. You just can’t win. They want you to look good but they don’t want you to look too good.

Q: So the accident and the very nature of your work helped you to focus on your health, not just your looks. How did you change your diet?

A: I try not to let my food control me. I don’t want anything to control me. I don’t overeat. I grew up in the South; I’ve learned that overeating is the kiss of death.

I don’t drink my sweets. I don’t drink sodas or high-calorie energy drinks. I think when you put concentrated sugars in liquids, it’s just a quick fix — you crash an hour later and you want more. If I want to have something yummy, I’ll eat it, and I’ll savor it. I’ll have something satisfying, like dark chocolate, but I don’t make it a habit.

I eat big meals in the morning when I need a lot of energy. And I don’t eat a lot of carbs.

Q: What did you have for breakfast?

A: I had an egg bagel with provolone cheese, but I took one side of it off. It’s not that I deprive myself; I’m not one of those salad girls. But when I go out to dinner, I don’t do a lot of dessert. I think with the sweet on top of everything, it’s just too hard to digest.

Q: What about eating dinner?

A: I don’t eat late at night. If you eat a big meal and go to bed, the next day, you’re puffy and tired because even though your brain went to sleep, your body didn’t stop for another four hours, so you didn’t get a lot of rest. You use that sleep time to repair and rebuild and rejuvenate.

Q: Anything other advice?

A: Get plenty of fiber.

Drink a lot of water.

Work out whenever and wherever you can.

Stretch often. I make time to stretch daily even if I don’t have time for a full workout. It keeps me supple.

The owners of Boulder’s Sterling University Peaks apartments, who this summer were cited for illegally subdividing 92 bedrooms in the complex, have reached an agreement to settle the case for $410,000, the city announced Thursday.